OH HEY.
This week I found myself with leftover pizza dough and an inexplicable craving for salty, Mediterranean flavors. Naturally, I drew inspiration from cinnamon rolls and made these savory pizza rolls that are THE BOMB. Like, seriously. Why do I not roll all of my pizzas into cute little savory swirly buns? This needs to change, ASAP.
Pizza rolls for president! (But really-I’d take a pizza roll over this guy right about now).
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about how I can help people who are just starting on their journey towards making healthier food choices and/or learning to feed themselves. I’ve learned so much over the last decade about health and my body, and I want to share it with everyone! Some of most important lessons I’ve learned on this journey towards health and happiness are:
1. Diets don’t work. Yes, really. They don’t work, and in my experience are counterproductive to the task at hand: figuring out how to feed yourself so that you’re healthy and happy in the long term. The diet industry is rich because they’re selling you a product designed to simultaneously fail and make you blame yourself for their failure. If you resolved to go on a diet this year, ask yourself why. What is it you’re really after?
2. All bodies are good bodies. Yup. All of them. Big, small, squishy, toned, hairy, smooth, lumpy- whatever. The shape and size of your body isn’t an indicator of who you are as a person or how healthy you are. Likewise, chasing after a particular body shape/size is a waste of time and doesn’t make sense. Why would we try to coerce our bodies into a size they aren’t meant to be?
3. There is no bad food, and eating a certain way won’t make you a better person. The realization that I could eat whatever I wanted has been so liberating for me. No foods are off limits-I always eat the foods I’m craving and feel no guilt/shame/regret. While I am passionate about eating local food and supporting sustainable agriculture as much as possible, I don’t think doing so makes me inherently better than anyone else.
4. Health isn’t a one meal or one day thing- it spans your lifetime. It also isn’t just about food or the size of your body; health is as much mental/emotional as it is physical. Spend time with your family. Go out for a hike, watch the sunset. Paint a picture. Learn how to do something new. Watch lots of Netflix. Eat the donut, for god’s sake. Do the things that make you feel good and guess what? You’re doing it; you’re healthy.
I have a lot more to share on the subject, but I’ll leave you with this basic tenet of my food philosophy: food should be satisfying first, and healthy second. I love using wholesome, high-quality, ‘real food’ ingredients in my kitchen, but I’m not willing to sacrifice flavor in the name of eating healthy food.
Which brings us to pizza rolls. Are they healthy? Yup, I’d say so. But what’s most important is that they are fun to eat and taste amazing. 
These little Greek pizza rolls of joy are full of flavors I crave on the regular: sweet sun-dried tomatoes, briney Kalamata olives, salty feta, earthy kale, and bright fresh lemon. Other than a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and oregano, that’s about all that goes into these rolls.
If you’ve ever made cinnamon rolls, these pizza rolls follow the same general game plan. Roll out dough into a rectangle, spread it with something moist (butter in the case of cinnamon rolls, a chunky olive tapenade for these pizza rolls), then sprinkle with whatever toppings/spices you love and roll it up. I used feta and kale for these rolls, but I’m already dreaming of a version with basil pesto as the spread and roasted veggies and Parmesan as the toppings. 
This recipe uses half a batch of my homemade whole wheat pizza dough because I used half for an actual pizza the night before and had leftovers. You could make half a batch of dough, but I have a feeling you’ll find something to make with the extra dough sitting in your fridge this week. Pizza is obviously an option, as are calzones, or these pizza dough cinnamon rolls. Or, you know, double this recipe and make 16 Greek pizza rolls. You should probably do that- 8 rolls just isn’t enough. 
I hope you love this simple, fun pizza roll recipe. Make is as is if you are crazy about Greek flavors like I am, or use this idea as a jumping off point for all the pizza roll fillings/flavors of your dreams.
I can’t wait to see your pizza rolls! Leave a comment here telling me all about them, or take a picture and share it with me on Instagram or Facebook.
Greek Pizza Rolls
Ingredients
- 1/2 batch of homemade whole wheat pizza dough recipe linked above*
- 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
- 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes optional, for a little heat
- a big handful of chopped kale or spinach
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta
- extra olive oil salt, and pepper, for topping
Instructions
- 1. Roughly chop the sun-dried tomatoes, olives, and garlic, and put them in a small bowl. Add olive oil, pepper, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine.
- 2. Roll out pizza dough into a 1/4-inch thick rectangle on a well-floured surface (approx. 12 inches long and 8 inches wide).
- 3. Spread dough with olive mixture, and top with kale and feta. Add an extra drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Then, starting from the longest edge, roll the dough up (like making cinnamon rolls). Roll tightly, pressing down as you go.
- 4. Slice the log into 8 pieces, and transfer them to a large oven-safe dish.
- 5. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and let rise at warm room temperature for 30-60 minutes, or until rolls have almost doubled in size.
- 6. When rolls are almost done rising, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake rolls for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. These can be eaten hot or at room temperature. Dip in marinara sauce, pesto, or eat alongside soup or salad. Rolls are best fresh, but will keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
Yes, Please.